Men’s Soccer Closes Non-Conference Play at UAB Tuesday Night

 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Wrapping up non-conference action, the Belmont University men's soccer team travels down Interstate 65 Tuesday to take on the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Kickoff from PNC Field in Birmingham, Alabama, is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The road match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with James Hardy and Joel Wallace on the call. Live stats of the contest can also be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (5-4-1) have won consecutive matches for the first time this season after defeating Drake 2-1 Saturday evening on the road in Belmont's Missouri Valley Conference opener.
• Winning three of their last four outings, the Bruins are seeking their first three-match winning streak since starting last season 3-0-0.
• Sophomore midfielder Paul Claes Nielsen provided the game-winning goal with three minutes remaining Saturday at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. All three scores in the match came in the final 15 minutes.
• Graduate midfielder John McDowell gave Belmont a 1-0 lead on the Bulldogs on a penalty kick in the 76th minute after sophomore forward Jaxon Stokes was fouled in the box. Drake responded in the 83rd minute and evened the score with a short free kick taken just outside the penalty area.
• Saturday's win was the Bruins' third-straight MVC-opening result.
• With the victory, eighth-year head coach David Costa improved to 4-1-3 in league openers.
• It was also Belmont's first triumph over the Bulldogs in Des Moines.
• Claes Nielsen's game winner was his fourth goal of the season. He is now tied with fifth-year defender Nate Mefford for the most goals by a Bruin this year.
• Freshman goalkeeper Brody Sucher came up with five saves at Drake over the weekend, his third consecutive match with at least five saves. He has made five or more saves in five of the last six matches.
• Graduate midfielder Elijah John delivered the ball into the box on Claes Nielsen's game winner Saturday, earning his third assist of the season. He is now tied with McDowell for the team lead in assists. His assist was his 20th career point, the most of any Belmont player.
• On Friday, Sept. 25, the Bruins won their third-straight home match with their second shutout of the season – a 3-0 win over the University of St. Thomas.
• Belmont has claimed a result in each of its last four matches at E.S. Rose Park.
• Eleven Bruins have found the back of the net this season, accounting for 21 total goals.
• Belmont's 2.10 goals per match average is tied for 26th-best nationally.
• The Bruins' 21 goals are tied for 31st-most in the nation.
• Belmont has scored at least three goals on four occasions this season, including an impressive 6-1 win at Wright State in the Bruins' opening road match.
• On Sept. 8, McDowell was named MVC Player of the Week after providing the equalizer on an 88th-minute penalty kick in the 1-1 home draw with Mercer (Sept. 4). The Chapel Hill, North Carolina (C.E. Jordan HS), native has punched it into the back of the net three times this fall.
• Belmont welcomed 10 newcomers this year, including eight over the summer and two in January – senior forward Nathan Ferguson and freshman defender Judah McCloud.
• The Bruins' 2026 class is comprised of six freshmen and four transfers.
• Belmont returned 16 from 2025, including 12 letter winners.
• Only four returning Bruins started matches last season – Claes Nielsen (16), sophomore midfielder Nzuhri Biggar (10), graduate midfielder Ethan Schlegel (9), and senior forward Lucas Wolthers (6).
• After finishing just one point shy of claiming its first MVC regular season championship last year, Belmont was picked fifth in the league's preseason poll as voted by the Valley's head coaches.
• The Bruins went 3-2-2 in MVC play in 2025 and finished 8-3-6 overall.
• Belmont has reached eight victories in three of the last five seasons.
• The Bruins went undefeated through their first 11 matches last season (6-0-5) for the first time in school history.
• Belmont put together a program-record 13-match unbeaten streak from Oct. 29, 2024, through Oct. 7, 2025.
• Claes Nielsen, an MVC All-Freshman Team selection last fall, was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team. The Copenhagen, Denmark, native started all but one match his freshman season and led the Bruins in assists (5).

Versus UAB

• Tuesday night will be just the sixth regular season meeting between Belmont and UAB.
• The two teams last met during the regular season in September of 2013.
• Despite not playing in the regular season, the Bruins and the Blazers have competed against one another in preseason exhibition matches each of the last four seasons. Belmont made trips down to Birmingham in both 2025 and 2023, while UAB visited Nashville in 2024 and 2022.

About the Blazers

• The Blazers (4-3-2) enter the week following a 1-1 home draw with Tulsa this past Friday night.
• UAB has not won a match since a 2-1 home victory over Central Arkansas on Sept. 15, which capped a four-match winning streak.
• The Blazers are 3-2-2 at PNC Field this season.
• Picked to finish seventh in the American Conference, according to the league's nine-team preseason coaches poll, UAB is off to a 1-1-1 start in conference play.
• In addition to Central Arkansas, the Blazers have played two other common opponents in Lipscomb and Mercer. UAB earned a 1-1 draw with the Bisons on opening night in Birmingham and defeated the Bears of Mercer 1-0 on the road on Aug. 31.
• The Blazers went 6-7-2 last year and finished seventh in the American with a 3-4-1 conference mark.
• Led by third-year head coach David Lilly, UAB features senior forward Tony Kim, a 2024 All-American Conference Second Team performer who has accounted for six of the Blazers' 14 goals this season.
• Although he has only played in three matches this year, senior forward Humphrey Doh was tabbed as one of two American Preseason Offensive Players of the Year. He was a second-team all-conference selection last season after scoring a pair of goals and assisting on another four.
• Junior defender Ole Jessen, who has two assists and a goal to his name this season, was also a preseason all-conference choice after garnering second-team all-league honors last year.

Up Next
The Bruins return to the Music City this weekend, hosting Bradley Sunday evening. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. from Rose Park. The MVC home opener will be broadcast on ESPN+. All soccer matches at Rose Park are free to attend.
 
How to Follow
Follow Belmont men's soccer on social media – @BelmontMSoccer on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontmsoccer on Instagram and Belmont University Men's Soccer on Facebook – for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.